Responding to the migration advisory committee annual report and the Homecare Association report, Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive at NHS Providers said:

"With more than 165,000 vacancies in social care, higher wages and better conditions are desperately needed to ensure staff feel valued and are rewarded fairly for their work. Without recognition for their services, care staff will continue to seek alternative employment in hospitality and retail sectors which often offer better pay.

"Every day, trust leaders see the impact of chronic staff shortages in the NHS and social care. Hospitals are unable to discharge patients well enough to recover at or closer to home, which impacts admissions, adding to delays in A&E, and the handover of patients from waiting ambulances.

"This comes on top of soaring demand for services, record winter pressures, the cost-of-living crisis and now strike action. We welcomed the chancellor's announcement of a workforce plan for next year, but to be effective it must be fully funded and fully costed.

"It must also be accompanied by meaningful reform for the social care sector to ensure people receive person-centred, preventative care to help stay independent in the community. Without this, pressure will continue to mount across the health and care system."